Acoustic Electric question

[vicevursa]

Hi guys. I have was down at Guitar Center most of the afternoon yesterday. I'm looking at the Fender DG20CE. I am not a guitarist so I am coming to you for opinions. The reviews I have been reading are mainly positive. The price is right. It lists for $599, but they are selling it for $359.99 What do you guys think? I played quite a few guitars in that price range. Any opinions you can offer would be helpful... I would mainly be using this guitar for recording.


Vice

 

[zer0sig]

i don't typically think of acoustics when i think of fender, but they know how to build guitars that don't break. i'd assume the playability is going to be good-most of the fenders i've played have had relatively easy (maybe too easy in some cases) necks, and were not especially big (good or bad depending on your taste). my real feedback: do you like it better than other things in its pricerange? is this the range you want to work in? i would try every other guitar in there that is within budget and fits your needs, and pick from there. while i usually don't look at fenders for acoustics, that's because i don't see them around that much, and my next acoustic will likely be something shmancier. i say if it plays well and sounds good (try it plugged in!), get it!

 

[Treeline]

You're dealing with a factory made, entry level Korean guitar. You can expect excellent bang for the buck, but the tonal quality will hit a ceiling and sooner or later you will want to trade up. Look for a solid spruce top (I think all the Fenders may have this, but check anyway) and avoid the laminated top guitars if you can. Play as many as you can, look for easy playability, and you will probably find one that feels best. Then buy it!! Play the heck out of it and it will deliver your money's worth. When you're ready to trade up, you'll know it. In the meantime, that's a great price to get started.

 

[vicevursa]

Thanks guys for the responses. I went back to GC and tried out some more guitars. I still went with the Fender anyway. It sounds pretty good plugged in, IMHO. But, hey, what do I really know? I am eager to do some recording with it...


Vice

 

[scottboyher]

Congrats on the new Guitar!

 

[Treeline]

Hee hee. Another victim... I love to shop with someone else's money..

Good job! Now play that sucker!

 

[Jblount]

Why not something like this?
dean1
dean2

 

[Fusion2]

your hand and neck size should equal into the factor also, i just bought a takamine on line and have thoughts of sex when i play it, ya, it's just that good...

 

[Dr_simon]

I have a Fender acoustic 12 string and love it. One thing to add and that is the type of strings you use on an acoustic can make a big difference to your tone. It is more pronounced on some acoustics than others i.e. phosphor-bronze sound dull and lifeless on my Alvarez where as Bronze make it sound normally bright and lovely. I was using Ernie Bal Earthwound's on my 12 string....bla bla bla

Just something else to check out !

 

[vicevursa]

Hey guys. I have recorded a few chords with it and I am digging it. It sounds the way I want so far. As I stated I am no guitarist. It has the strings it came with. This will be interesting when it comes time to change the strings. I fear I might break something. Here's a dumb question, what do you clean the guitar with, I know nothing about maintaining a guitar. Should I use pledge or what?

Vice

 

[Treeline]

A little Windex on a cotton cloth is all you need. Use Pledge if you want, but it's not necessary. You don't need to polish it, just keep it clean.

 

[vicevursa]

Thanks... Anything I need to do to the strings?

Vice

 

[Fusion2]

agreed, fender makes good products, i played a $150 D something 6 years ago and never forgot the feel and sound, good for the price...

get some fretboard oil/cond and maybe some string wipe i would suggest, also do a search, you can buy products that are worthless or may damage your investment, read up, absolute...

 

[vicevursa]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will do some research...

You guys have been great!


Vice

 

[Buck62]

agreed, fender makes good products, i played a $150 D something 6 years ago and never forgot the feel and sound, good for the price...

The people at Samick Instruments appreciate that comment.... they're the one's who actually manufacture the low-end, Korean-made Fender guitars.

 

[Dr_simon]

Lemmon oil is great for cleaning and conditioning dark wood fret boards, use it sparingly and wipe off excess. It will de-gunk and condition like nothing else. You can get it on line or at your local guitar store. Whilst you are their you may want to check out some different types of acoustic strings. You can also get spatial guitar polish. I don’t know if it is better / worse than the products mentioned above. I use Ernie Ball guitar polish and it is great !

 

[Treeline]

Lots of the polishes marketed as "guitar polish" are basically silicone, wax and fragarance. They look great, but there's a real problem with them.

Silicone takes something like ten years to dry. That's not much of an exaggeration; silicone simply will not dry. "Not a problem - polish it off".. but it is a problem, because the silicone seeps into the nooks and crannies of that guitar and if it ever needs to be repaired or the finish fixed, you're stuck. Silicone will not take a glue or a finish. So silicone polishes look OK but are the repair professional's nightmare.

If you want to polish it, look for a furniture polish that has no silicone and cleans the finish, or use caranuba wax. I think Pledge is OK, but I'm out of touch with the chemistry thing these days.

If you really need to bring back a finish, the best thing to do is apply successively finer grades of polishing compound. My favorite is Meguiar's Mirror Glaze. It's what pilots and small airlines use to clear the haze off plexiglass windshields in aircraft. But you do not need to "protect" the finish.